Akon to audition Indian artistes online

African-American singer Akon, popular for his blend of R&B with hip hop, is scouting for singing talent in India in a rather unusual manner. Upcoming singers will give auditions online and will be judged by a software that uses artificial intelligence to select potential chart busters.

The singer has tied up with Bollywood singer-composer Aadesh Shrivastava for this venture.

“We are providing artistes with the opportunity to get discovered and perform on an international platform,” Akon told DNA in an email interview. He added that upcoming singers will be selected randomly through online auditions on the newly launched website www.hitlab.com.

“The website uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse songs for their hit potential. We use this as a tool for craft development and career enhancement,” the singer added.

Akon explained that through the Dynamic Hit Scoring (DHS) music analysis technology, the sound frequencies of songs are decomposed into a musical DNA which is compared to the DNA of highly ranked songs on past billboard charts.

The songs with the highest scores will be played on a Canadian radio station and the artistes will get a chance to collaborate with Akon on future projects. “We consider ourselves as a global networking music community that caters to all artistes, consumers and music companies on the lookout for new and emerging talent,” adds Akon.

The singer encourages upcoming crooners and composers from India to create their profiles on his portal and have their music analysed and rated. “This is a new movement in the music business that will reinvent the way music is discovered, produced, marketed and sold,” believes Akon.

The selected Indian artistes will work along with Shrivastava for the final collaboration with Akon and his team. The singer-composer has produced a number Let’s Go to Bollywood with hitlab artistes from the US and UK. Shrivastava’s son, Avitesh, has also lent his voice to the song which will be released worldwide in Hindi, Punjabi and English.

“This initiative and Akon’s business partners have created an opportunity for artists from all over the world to collaborate on a musical and cultural fusion. This is a great way of creating synergy between different cultures and their performing arts,” says Shrivastava.

The website, which is in English and Chinese, was launched in Hindi in India this week. Newer versions in French and Spanish are being planned for non-English speaking artistes.